World Cup 2019: Pakistan team preview

World Cup 2019: Pakistan team preview.

Forever unpredictable, Pakistan enter the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in especially poor form, having lost their last 10 ODIs. Besides, Afghanistan too upset them in their warm-up fixture last week. Nonetheless, one thing is for certain: you can never rule out the Men in Green.

The last time Pakistan’s 50-over side came to England and Wales they pulled off a remarkable heist, seizing the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 in spectacular fashion. That tournament saw them suffer a crushing defeat to India in their opener but exactly two weeks later the roles were reversed as Pakistan shocked their fiercest rivals with a performance that was beyond clinical.

Having made three changes to their preliminary squad, Pakistan may appear destabilised, but funnily enough, they appear to thrive on instability.

Thankfully rain didn t stop Pakistan having some fun in front of the yesterday! pic.twitter.com/gj01lNEIgp

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) May 26, 2019

Strengths and weaknesses

While Pakistan have historically been associated with their fast-bowling prowess – the likes of Hassan Ali, Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan were pivotal in the Champions Trophy win – it appears that their batting is currently their strongest suit.

In their recent series against England, Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam all passed three figures as Pakistan hit 340 or more batting first in three consecutive ODIs. Unfortunately for the visitors, England were successful in all three chases, negotiating Pakistan’s attack with significant ease.

Hassan Ali believes his experiences in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy will serve him well during #CWC19. pic.twitter.com/trOc88aueg

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) May 25, 2019

And so, the tables have turned. Pakistan’s bowling suddenly appears their most striking weakness. The veterans Wahab Riaz and Amir have been brought back into the fold but questions over their form remain.

Key player: Babar Azam

Glorious to watch, Babar may just be 24 years of age, but he is Pakistan’s most trusted source of runs. The No.1 ranked T20I batsman in the world, he averages over 50 in both white-ball international formats and already has nine ODI centuries to his name from just 64 ODIs.

Question have circulated in recent days in regards to his relatively slow strike-rate, but Babar’s role is mightily similar to that of Joe Root’s for England, to hold the middle order together while others muster lustier blows. If Pakistan are to proceed to the semi-final stage, Babar will most likely have played a key role.

X-factor: Shadab Khan

It’s hard to believe that Shadab is still just 20, but the leg-spinning all-rounder was a key part of Pakistan’s Champions Trophy win and will play the role of lead spinner for his side.

Illness saw him miss the ODI series against England, and his presence was missed as his replacement Yasir Shah struggled to offer any control. The young spinner will be a key weapon for Sarfaraz Ahmed in the middle-overs, much like fellow leggies Adil Rashid and Imran Tahir are for their respective sides. He’s pretty handy with the bat too having hit three-half centuries in his fledgling 34-match career.

Tournament history

Pakistan reached the summit in 1992 when the side of ‘Cornered Tigers’ were led to glory by the inspirational Imran Khan. Since then, their finest run in the tournament came in 1999 when they reached the final at Lord’s, only to suffer an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia.

In 2011 they impressed with a run to the semi-finals before 2015 saw them reach the quarters. In both tournaments, they were eliminated by the eventual champions: India (2011) and Australia (2015).

Recent form

L L L L L L L L L L

A second-string side were swept by Australia in UAE before hosts England did the same to them just ahead of the World Cup. With one warm-up game washed out and having lost to Afghanistan in the other, Pakistan do not come into the tournament carrying great form.

Fixtures

31 May: v West Indies, Trent Bridge, Nottingham

3 June: v England, Trent Bridge, Nottingham

7 June: v Sri Lanka, Bristol County Ground

12 June: v Australia, County Ground Taunton

16 June: v India, Old Trafford, Manchester

23 June: v South Africa, Lord’s, London

26 June: v New Zealand, Edgbaston, Birmingham

29 June: v Afghanistan, Headingley, Leeds

5 July: v Bangladesh, Lord’s, London

Squad

Sarfaraz Ahmed (c, wk), Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Imam-ul-Haq, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman

Source: www.icc-cricket.com